Trailer Decking Finishing

[8gv]

What type of trailer is this?

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by 8gv

What type of trailer is this?

It's an 8x8 tilting snowmobile trailer without cover.

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[fatlazyless]

Go with 2x4's x 8'ers, pressure treated, and space them out with a one inch space for drainage of snow and rain ...... about 30-days after installation, so the p.t. dries out good ...... hit it with a coat of exterior gray latex primer and two coats of high gloss, hard surface, exterior latex on the top and down in between the 2x4's as much as possible .....

..... 2x4's are relatively low priced, and very sturdy, and easy to add any later improvements, by fastening into the 2x4 construction lumber.


......you get to choose the color ...... maybe Arctic Cat super bright fluorescent GREEN and turn the trailer into a TEAM ARCTIC trailer and give it some attitude.

Walmart has perfectly decent exterior mixed-colors paint that is way less pricey than Lowe's.

And, having a trailer that's got some weight keeps it from bouncing all across the road, when it rolls across a bump or something.

[TiltonBB]

It depends upon your budget and what you are looking for. Diamond plate is nice but costs more than plywood.

I built a couple of pontoon boats from scratch and I used regular 3/4 plywood for the deck. I didn't go with PT because I was afraid of curling and I didn't want the additional weight.

Before I installed the plywood I put two coats of porch floor paint on each side and all of the edges. I do not see any problems so far, and like a snowmobile trailer the bottom is exposed to the air so the wood will dry out easily.

[Top-Water]

Someone doing pretty much what you are trying to do. Some interesting comments about pressure treated wood and aluminum. Not sure if this would be your situation.

https://www.hardcoresledder.com/foru...materials.html

[jeffk]

Just curious, how would diamond plate hold up to carbide runners? Also wouldn't it be slippery to walk on when snow covered?

[8gv]

P.T. and aluminum can make some corrosion.

Will it corrode soon enough to affect your ownership?

That is unknown.

Since I am in the fourth quarter, with no time outs, I only expect to make my stuff last 20 years.

I used P.T. Plywood on my steel utility trailer.

It was very easy to do.

[Top-Water]

Originally Posted by jeffk

Just curious, how would diamond plate hold up to carbide runners? Also wouldn't it be slippery to walk on when snow covered?

The carbide would beat the hell out of the aluminum with heavy use , but not make any holes like bare plywood. The best (snow mobile trailers I have seen) don't cover the entire deck with the tread plate. More like several smaller pieces in strategic / high wear point locations. And yes very very slippery to walk on. However when done right with a balance of exposed plywood and diamond plate it looks great and lasts forever.

Sometimes these types of DIY projects are personal pride projects and the sky is the limit, but if your just hauling trash to the dump who cares as long as the lights work when you plug them in.

Many many years ago a former boss / employer of mine built a heavy-heavy duty log split er that was a work of art for a banker friend of his, hand made with the finest of everything including the expensive aluminum mag wheels. A real conversation piece when it was done, but in the end all it did was split wood.

[SAB1]

Honestly that’s not high end trailer and must have some years on it. Slap the pt plywood on it and be done. I bet the plywood outlast the frame and certainly will outlast the axel if it’s got some years on it. Ski guides needed to handle the carbides.

[burgerunh]

If your trailer is aluminum, the chemicals they use in pressure treated plywood will react with and corrode the aluminum frame.

[dt5150]

correct, you don't want to mate pressure treated wood with aluminum. it's same with boat floors.. can't use pt wood in a boat with aluminum floor supports. have to use marine grade plywood, which is a viable option for you as well.

also, if you need some ski guides (the plastic runners for your carbides/skis) let me know. i have some used ones from my old trailer taking up space.

[MAXUM]

Keep a few things in mind here as you contemplate a solution.

Gaps in the flooring may be great for draining but they will also allow road spray especially from the trailer tires to come up from the underside. Probably not ideal.

Those frames are designed to take the thickness of 3/4 inch plywood - standard dimensional lumber runs at 1.5" thick so it will protrude above the frame and be susceptible to damage as the edges will be exposed. Dimensional lumber especially PT stuff will warp, twist and split if not secured in enough places.

A good quality marine grade plywood deck properly treated should last the life of the trailer and really what it's designed to be build with. A solid sheet of plywood adds significant stiffness and structure to that frame that individual pieces of wood will not. I would think not using plywood may affect the overall trailer integrity and capacity.

[Dad sold the C * C]

After building my kayak I have become a big fan of coating plywood with epoxy too keep the water out. You can then paint it or varnish it to protect it from UV if needed.